The Wetpowder Wargamers of Lees Summit monthly game topic was Amer. Civil War and the 10 Players that showed up split into the Union & Confederate sides - the "young lions" played the North side while us "older guys" played the South side!
The situation was the North had just had a "great victory" just north of the table and the Southern forces were in "rapid retreat" onto the table fragmented heading south toward Richmond. The Southern Leadership (our game-master Mike Sanderson) had given us "orders" to try and stem the on-rushing tide of over-whelming Union troops chasing us south and delay to form some sort of defensive line based on the local terrain across the long-center-line of the table - then when "formed up" to withdraw "in-good-order" off the table further south as a grouped force if possible!!
The table layout split the table into "thirds" using Left Creek (running north/south) and Right Creek (running north/south) and the town of Sandersonville on the right third of the table - there were roads running "north/south" on each third and one "east/west" road (with bridges) connecting Sandersonville with the other two thirds of the table down the middle-line. While the creeks were "fordable" this center east/west road was very important to quickly move troops back and forth from one area to another and it’s importance was not lost by either side - capture the road or bridges and the Southern forces are "broken apart" - hold the road-line and bridges and the South has a "unified force"!
The Battle of Split Creeks opened with the "fragmented" Southern forces (4 brigades each with 5-6 infantry rgts. and a 2-gun art. battery) entering the western, northern, and eastern edges of the table in rapid retreat toward whatever defensive terrain features we thought would delay the over-whelming on-rushing Union forces (5 brigades with 5-6 infantry rgts. & 1-2 2-gun artillery batteries) - we could hear the Union troops coming behind us (we didn’t know how many moves the game-master would give us to move onto the table before the Union forces would show up behind us on all fronts - he let the Union come on at the end of the second move)! We were hardly ready or in position to defend ourselves!
I was on the east third trying to get my troops back around Sandersonville (the best defensive terrain) but I’d left two of my infantry regts. back (one to the north along the woods road and one along the east farm-fields fence line) to delay the Union troops forward movement - when the Union regts. entered the table along these edges they had 2 & 3 to ones against my sacrificed troops and quickly mounted up multiple hits on my men as I pulled them back toward Sandersonville where I was entrenching my other 4 regts. and artillery! The other Southern leaders were moving their units like-wise toward the center-line east/west road and bridges to establish a defensive line behind the farm-fields hedgerows and tree-lines. We let the west third of the table fall to the Union and moved our troops to the middle third - we had 3 infantry regts. in reserve on the east third and we moved these to the middle third across the bridges (interior lines)!
As the Union forces moved on the table west, north, and east edges we could start evaluating their strength in areas of the table and realized my side (Sandersonville) had no flank and was going to be over-whelmed! I’d already lost the two of my regts. that I’d left behind to delay the Union advance! We had to send two regts. back across the bridge toward town and two of our reinforcing regts. that were to go to the middle "stayed" on the east flank to try to slow the Union advance there.
As the Union advanced toward town in the east I had two of my regts. and two guns shooting at one Union regt. trying to get multiple hits but I could never get more than 1 hit a turn on him and when he was almost gone a new fresh Union regt. took his place while the hurt regt. went to rear in reserve! To the north the Union were advancing toward town and the bridge to the middle area with 5 rgets. & artillery battery support - things were looking bad from my view in the town as Union "threats" from all sides were getting closer & closer!!
Then the game-master called the South team to the garage for a "change of orders" - we were to move all forces to the middle - attack & breakthru to create a "Southern Victory"?? We returned to the table and thought how many casualties we would suffer and how long it would take to follow those orders while the Union forces were chewing us up as we left our defensive positions!!
Luckily the Union leaders took that "plan" out of our hands and chose that point to "close to melee" all along the line!! The Union troops moved forward across the middle ground while all we could do once "in melee" was try to fight them off as best we could! The Union attacking (charging) troops had to take "fire" first then pass "morale checks" before closing - many of the Union regts. were "blown away" by canister fire or failed morale and retreated or routed back with multiple hits!!
With fewer Union troops to our fronts the situation had changed ! We Southern commanders started looking for opportunities to keep the battle going our way and start pushing the Union back. On my right (east) were those two reserve regts. that had stayed on my third of the table to give my position at Sandersonville a "flank" - as the Union on this east flank fell back, they had become vulnerable to a "flanking attack" by these two Southern regts. coming thru the farm fields and woods on that flank into the defending Union regt. there, the Union regt. melted away, next was one of the Union artillery batteries on this flank - it was wiped-out too in the same "flanking attack"!
On the west side of Sandersonville the advancing Union lines of troops had passed by my troops in Sandersonville to get "in melee" with the Southern troops behind the hedge-line at the bridge. After falling back there for "failed morale" these Union lines were exposed to more "flanking attacks" by my regts. moving out of Sandersonville killing & pushing back more Union troops! I called for any extra Southern units to move into Sandersonville with my artillery there in case any Union troops tried again to close on the town - a fresh Southern regt. was moved in to hold the town!
As darkness fell on the battlefield (10PM real time) our game-master judged the battle a Southern "minor victory" for stopping the Union advance and forming a unified Southern force in the middle of the table for the next day’s battle! Both sides were "bloodied & weak" as we reviewed everybody’s "hit sheets". It was a close battle and lots of fun for everybody there.
We look forward to the next Tabletop Tuesday every Tuesday night at Tabletop Hobbies in Lenexa Kans. (6:30-10-ish PM), the Wet powder Wargamers of Lees Summit Monthly game (Western Gunfight next time), the next Ft. Leav. Simsats Sept. 25th at the U.S. Army Museum, the LSHS Recruits-Con Sept. 17th/18th at Lees Summit High School (check out www.recruits-con.com) , Border Wars HAHMGS Con Oct. 1,2,3 at the Best Western on S.W. Trafwy. in K.C.Kan., and Command Con Nov.19-21 in St. Louis at Grant’s Shelter! Till then, good gaming all, Harold (Harold’s Old Games) Morgan in Gladstone Mo. (N.K.C.Mo.)
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